Philadelphia 76ers: George Hill has been just what the Doc ordered

When the Philadelphia 76ers traded four second-round picks and a trio of bench players for George Hill – and an eventually-waived Ignas Brazdeikis – it felt like a pretty good start to Daryl Morey‘s first trade deadline as the team’s President of Basketball Operations.

Now granted, that isn’t necessarily a knock against Hill, who is a veteran’s veteran and a model NBA player, but after being linked to everyone from Norman Powell to Kyle Lowry and even Lonzo Ball, just leaving the day with a 36-year-old bench guard felt rather underwhelming.

In hindsight, that thinking was pretty darn shortsighted.

Though the sample size is still rather small, as he’s only appeared in eight games in a red, white, blue, and occasionally black jersey, George Hill has proven to be exactly what the Philadelphia 76ers were looking for at the trade deadline and should play an incredibly vital role for the club when they make their playoff debut later this month.

Thanks OKC, y’all always seem to come through with the primo veteran talent.

George Hill really is a playoff upgrade for the Philadelphia 76ers.

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When news broke that George Hill wasn’t going to be ready to go upon his arrival from Oklahoma, it left many a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers bummed the heck out.

After failing to land one or more of the apples of their fanbase’s eye on the midseason semi-open market, and not even getting the on-court benefits of the player, who Daryl Morey actually acquired felt like a rather hollow end to an extremely consequential trade deadline.

But do you know who wasn’t worried about Hill’s status? That’d be Doc Rivers, who had this to say on his initial status when asked at media availability, “He’s not playing yet, but he’s on the trip, and he shot today. Again, there’s no timetable that I know of, to be honest,” the coach added. “He’s been great at our shootarounds. He’s standing literally like one of the coaches. He’s absorbing; he’s actually making points defensively to some of our young guys, so he’s absorbing a lot.”

Were these words, initially reported by Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin and others on April 6th, particularly mind-easing? I guess that depends on who you ask, but considering the Sixers were in the middle of a particularly tough stretch of games where the team went 4-3 in Hills absence, his return to the court – and debut in a Phila uniform – was incredibly anticipated.

Fortunately, if his initial run with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and company is of any indication, the veteran point guard’s addition is just what the Doc ordered to bring this thing in for a landing just in time for the playoffs.

Numerically speaking, Hill’s stats aren’t anything to write home about. He’s averaging his fewest minutes, points, and assists per game since his rookie season all the way back in 2008-09, but those numbers don’t tell the full story. No, Hill has been a steadying hand on the Sixers’ second unit, willing to take on tricky defensive assignments and seamlessly transition on and off the ball depending on how Rivers wants to play things.

Since Hill’s debut on April 19th, Tyrese Maxey has scored in double-digits six of the eight games he appeared in, including a perfect outing versus OKC where he dropped 11 points in 12 minutes on a perfect 5-5 shooting from the field. Considering the duo have only shared the court for 36 minutes through eight games, their +7 RPM is pretty impressive, especially when you consider that the duo are often deployed in four-guard lineups alongside Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, and Dwight Howard.

Hill’s addition has been arguably even more helpful for Shake Milton, who was in the middle of one of a particularly cold patch just right around the 36-year-old’s debut. Over the past eight games, Hill has shared the court with Milton for 80 of his 154 total minutes and helped get the Sixers’ shooting guard sixth man out of his funk, averaging 10.6 points in 20.6 minutes a night while draining 45 percent of his 2.5 3 point attempts, which is a massive upgrade from his season average (35 percent). Even after turning in two five-point performances in Hill’s first two games, Milton’s usage rate is down ever so slightly, and his efficiency numbers are way up, which is a big part of why the duo are at +23 in 80 minutes of action.

While the Sixers haven’t been as successful when forced to rely on Hill in their starting five, as the team has dropped both of their outings where he saw the court right from the jump, that had more to do with the absence of Simmons and those pesky Milwaukee Bucks than anything wrong with the former Spurs/Pacers/Jazzer/Cavalier/Buck/Thundermen’s performances.

Even if fans of Philly’s finest are only afforded the occasional glimpse of the player Hill once was, usually, in the form of a sick dunk or a deceptively dished dime, he’s unquestionably worth every bit of four second-round pick, and Tony Bradley, who has actually played fairly well as a backup big with the Thunder thus far.

dark. Next. The pros and cons of a Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade

When the Philadelphia 76ers made the deal to acquire George Hill, it wasn’t because he was the fastest, strongest, or more heralded player available on the block. While Hill has a few impressive accomplishments as a pro, including leading the NBA in 3 point shooting percentage, playing in the NBA finals, and being traded straight up for Kawhi Leonard, he’s (probably) not headed to the Hall of Fame and won’t be remembered as much more than a great contributor who did whatever his team needed to secure the dub. For a team like the Sixers, who already have a roster full of expensive superstars, landing a selfless veteran combo guard who will do whatever it takes to help his team win is great, which is really all that matters for a team looking to win ASAP.